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The Invisible Man
Tokyo PrefectureA car strikes an unseen object; blood spreads from an invisible source which becomes visible as the bleeding man dies. He carries with him a suicide note dedicated to his only friend, who is also an invisible man. An eager young reporter tracks down Takemitsu Nanjo, a war veteran who makes his living visibly, painting his face like a clown's and carrying advertising signs. His favorite neighbor is a little blind girl whose mother is running afoul of local gangsters. The gangsters have been terrorizing the city as "the invisible gang," wrapping themselves up in scarves and trenchcoats so as to be visible to their victims, even though they are supposed to be invisible underneath. Once they discover Nanjo, who is defending his only friends, they beat him and leave him for dead.
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Tokyo Story
Tokyo Prefecture Shizuoka PrefectureAs long as life goes on, relationships between parents and children will bring boundless joy and endless grief. — The elderly Shukishi and his wife, Tomi, take the long journey from their small seaside village to visit their adult children in Tokyo. Their elder son, Koichi, a doctor, and their daughter, Shige, a hairdresser, don't have much time to spend with their aged parents, and so it falls to Noriko, the widow of their younger son who was killed in the war, to keep her in-laws company.
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Gate of Hell
🇯🇵 Japan The 12th CenturyThe most honored screen import in a decade! — Japan, 1159. Moritō, a brave samurai, performs a heroic act by rescuing the lovely Kesa during a violent uprising. Moritō falls in love with her, but becomes distraught when he finds out that she is married.
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A Geisha
Kyoto PrefectureIn the post-war Gion district of Kyoto, the geisha Miyoharu agrees to apprentice the 16 year-old Eiko, whose mother was a former geisha who had just died. After a year of training they have to find a large sum of money before Eiko can debut. Miyoharu borrows the money from the tea-house owner, Okimi, who in turn obtains the money from the businessman Kusuda. Kusuda fancies Eiko himself and wants to give Miyoharu to Kanzaki in order to close a large business deal. However both geishas have minds of their own and, going against tradition, want to be able to say no to clients. Written by Will Gilbert
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Above and Beyond
Hiroshima Prefecture The 1940sThe love story behind the billion dollar secret! — The story of Colonel Paul Tibbets, the pilot that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Although unaware of the full potential of this new weapon, he knows that it can do tremendously more damage than any other weapon used before, and that the death toll resulting from it will be huge. He is reluctant to be the person who will end so many lives, but as time goes on, the pressure upon him only increase.
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Sabre Jet
🇯🇵 Japan The 1950sTHE HIGH AND MIGHTY SAGA OF THE JET-BLASTING ACES WHO FLY THE WORLD'S HOTTEST SKIES ! — The story of jet pilots flying over Korea by day, from their Itazuke Air Base in Japan, and of their wives, on station with them, who have dinner ready when they return. Jane Carter (Coleen Gray), a reporter for a large newspaper syndicate arrives... she's also the estranged wife of the assistant squadron commander, Colonel Gil Manton (Robert Stack.) At first, she goes at her assignment of getting a story on the pilots wives with the same ruthlessness and persistence that broke up her marriage - but a mirror isn't needed to peek around the corner to where this one is headed.
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Flight Nurse
🇯🇵 Japan The 1950sIn this war drama, set during the Korean War, an Air Force nurse gets involved in a love triangle on the front lines.
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Hiroshima
Hiroshima PrefectureThe film shows the bombing of Hiroshima and the horrific aftermath following the detonation of an atomic bomb on humans for the first time in history.
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Ikiru
Tokyo PrefectureA big story of a little man which will grip your soul ... — Kanji Watanabe is a middle-aged man who has worked in the same monotonous bureaucratic position for decades. Learning he has cancer, he starts to look for the meaning of his life.
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The Life of Oharu
Kyoto PrefectureFollows a woman's fight and survival amid the vicissitudes of life and the cruelty of the society.
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The Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice
Tokyo PrefectureA childless middle-aged couple faces a marital crisis of sorts.
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Children of Hiroshima
Hiroshima Prefecture The 1940sShows the devastation caused by the atomic bomb, and by use of a fictional storyline, portrays the struggle of the ordinary Japanese people in dealing with the aftermath.
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Dedication of the Great Buddha
Nara PrefectureDedication of the Great Buddha is a 1952 Japanese film directed by Teinosuke Kinugasa. It was entered into the 1953 Cannes Film Festival.
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Geisha Girl
Tokyo PrefectureTwo American G.I.s visiting Tokyo find themselves mixed up with espionage, a pretty flight attendant, a mad scientist, geisha girls, and a goofy magician-hypnotist and his white rabbits.
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Okinawa
Okinawa PrefectureOn the eve of their return to the states, the crew of the U.S.S. Blake is unpleasantly surprised when their new captain, Lt. Commander Hale (Pat O'Brien), announces that they've been reassigned to the upcoming invasion of Okinawa. With the news turning the crew against him, Hale must rise to the occasion to keep his men inline.
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Oriental Evil
🇯🇵 JapanSet in post war Japan, the film tells the tale of a woman looking for her missing brother. Her brother operated a small export business and has suddenly disappeared. Strangely his business partner has also vanished.
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The Idiot
Hokkaido PrefectureKameda, who has been in an asylum on Okinawa, travels to Hokkaido. There he becomes involved with two women, Taeko and Ayako. Taeko comes to love Kameda, but is loved in turn by Akama. When Akama realizes that he will never have Taeko, his thoughts turn to murder, and great tragedy ensues.
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Early Summer
Kanagawa PrefectureIn postwar Tokyo, Noriko, still single at the advanced age of 28, lives contentedly in an extended family household that includes her parents and her brother's family. An uncle's visit prompts the family to find her a husband.
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Tokyo File 212
Tokyo Prefecture Kanagawa Prefecture The 1950sA dangerous spy net in the powderkeg Orient! — A Communist spy ring in Japan is hard at work trying to sabotage the American war effort during the Korean War, using kidnapping, murder and a disturbed former kamikaze pilot. A U.S. secret agent, posing as a reporter, is dispatched to Tokyo to put a stop to these nefarious activities.
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Call Me Mister
🇯🇵 JapanFrom 20th Century-Fox...The All-Time Big-Time Good-Time Show of the Year! — A G.I. in occupied Japan tries to re-woo his old love, who's putting on a show for the troops.
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The Blue Pearl
Mie PrefectureThough recognized worldwide almost exclusively for his colorful kaiju fare, director Ishirō Honda (Godzilla, Rodan, Mothra) was a natural humanist with a particular understanding of the relationship between people and their social environs. His debut fiction feature, The Blue Pearl (Aoi Shinju) – virtually unseen in the west until now – depicts the melodramatic, but keenly-observed interplay between a young man from Tokyo and two ama (pearl divers; literally “women of the sea”) in a superstitious coastal town. Though raised within the same tradition-bound crucible, the two women – Noe and Riu – are portrayed as diametric opposites; the former meek but affectionate, the latter strong-willed but jaded by a tryst with metropolitan life. Nonetheless, Honda provides equal weight to their desires and their ambitions to break free from the social mold imposed upon them from birth.
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Rashomon
Kyoto Prefecture The 8th CenturyThe husband, the wife… or the bandit? — Brimming with action while incisively examining the nature of truth, "Rashomon" is perhaps the finest film ever to investigate the philosophy of justice. Through an ingenious use of camera and flashbacks, Kurosawa reveals the complexities of human nature as four people recount different versions of the story of a man's murder and the rape of his wife.
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The Bells of Nagasaki
Nagasaki Prefecture Hiroshima PrefectureThe film portrays the experiences of Takashi Nagai as a survivor of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki.
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Stray Dog
Tokyo Prefecture... The Suspense Filled Story of 7 Bullets! — A bad day gets worse for young detective Murakami when a pickpocket steals his gun on a hot, crowded bus. Desperate to right the wrong, he goes undercover, scavenging Tokyo’s sweltering streets for the stray dog whose desperation has led him to a life of crime. With each step, cop and criminal’s lives become more intertwined and the investigation becomes an examination of Murakami’s own dark side.
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Tokyo Joe
Tokyo PrefectureBogart rips the Jap underworld apart over a blonde in a Tokyo hot spot ! — Joe Barrett returns to Tokyo after World War II where he once owned a bar, Tokyo Joe's, and deserted his wife Trina. They have a seven-year-old daughter. Kimura forces Joe into piloting war criminals by revealing that during the war Trina made treasonous propaganda broadcasts.
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Flame of My Love
Tokyo Prefecture The 1880sA woman's struggle for equality in Japan in the 1880s. Eiko Hirayama leaves Okayama for Tokyo, where she helps the fledgling Liberal Party and falls in love with its leader Kentaro Omoi, just as the party is being disbanded by the government.
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Felipe de Jesús
🇯🇵 Japan The 16th CenturyBiography of the first Catholic Saint to be born in Mexico.
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A Hen in the Wind
Tokyo PrefectureTokiko is a mother patiently waiting for her husband's return from the war when her 4-year old son becomes ill. She takes him to the doctor for treatment but has no way of paying. She resorts to prostitution. One month later her husband returns from WWII to find his desperate wife, who tells him the truth. Together they must deal with the consequences.
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One Wonderful Sunday
Tokyo PrefectureYuzo and his fiancée Masako spend their Sunday afternoon together, trying to have a good time on just thirty-five yen. They manage to have many small adventures, especially because Masako's optimism and belief in dreams is able to lift Yuzo from his realistic despair.
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Record of a Tenement Gentleman
Tokyo PrefectureAn errant salaryman's son gets lost until a man from the Tokyo tenements brings him to vendor Tane, who's reluctant to let the kid board.
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The Beginning or the End
Hiroshima Prefecture The 1940sThe research, development, and deployment of the first atomic bomb, as well as the bombing of Hiroshima, are detailed in this docudrama.
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No Regrets for Our Youth
Tokyo Prefecture Kyoto Prefecture The 1940s The 1930sYukie, the well-bred daughter of a university professor, is shocked when her father is relieved of his post for his political teachings during a purge of anti-militarism in pre-war Kyoto. Years go by as she is courted by two of her father's former students; one a fiery leftist, the other more moderate and equable.
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Tokyo Rose
Tokyo PrefectureFirst screaming behind-the-scenes film drama of — Lotus Long plays the title role, an American-educated Japanese woman broadcasting enemy propaganda to American troops. Captured GI Pete Sherman (Byron Barr) is one of a group of POWS slated to be interviewed on Tokyo Rose's radio program. Instead of advising his comrades to surrender (as ordered), Sherman uses his innate Yankee knowhow to hoist the treacherous oriental deejay on her own petard. Managing to make his escape, Sherman hooks up with the Japanese Underground, convincing anti-militarist Charlie Otani (Keye Luke) to aid in a kidnapping plot aimed at Tokyo Rose.
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The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail
Ishikawa Prefecture The 12th CenturyYoshitsune Minamoto, disguised with his retinue as monks, must make do with a comical porter as their guide through hostile territory en route to safety.
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Sanshiro Sugata Part Two
Kanagawa Prefecture The 1880sIn this government-suggested sequel, Sugata again grows as a judo master, and demonstrates his (and by extension, all Japanese) superiority to the foreign warrior.
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Blood on the Sun
🇯🇵 Japan The 1940sHaving a wonderful time In Tokyo! — Nick Condon, an American journalist in 1945 Tokyo, publishes the Japanese master plan for world domination. Reaction from the understandably upset Japanese provides the action, but this is overshadowed by the propaganda of the time.
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First Yank into Tokyo
Tokyo PrefectureA REVELATION OF JAP ATROCITY! — A U.S. pilot (Tom Neal) undergoes plastic surgery and drops into Japan to get a captive scientist's (Marc Cramer) atomic secrets.
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In the Aleutians
Tokyo PrefectureA humourous look at the Aleutian Islands and their strategic value.
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Know Your Enemy: Japan
🇯🇵 JapanFrank Capra-directed propaganda film produced at the onset of World War II depicting the United States' new enemy: Japan
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Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo
Tokyo Prefecture The 1940sHeart-Warming Romance . . . Ripped from the Heart! — In the wake of Pearl Harbor, a young lieutenant leaves his expectant wife to volunteer for a secret bombing mission which will take the war to the Japanese homeland.
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The Purple Heart
Tokyo Prefecture The 1940sAn EPIC SAGE of RAW COURAGE! — This is the story of the crew of a downed bomber, captured after a run over Tokyo, early in the war. Relates the hardships the men endure while in captivity, and their final humiliation: being tried and convicted as war criminals.
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Destination Tokyo
Tokyo Prefecture The 1940sExplosive ! . . . And As Big As The Broad Pacific ! — During World War II, Captain Cassidy and his crew of submariners are ordered into Tokyo Bay on a secret mission. They are to gather information in advance of the planned bombing of Tokyo. Along the way, the crew learn about each other as they face the enemy and some of them lose their lives.
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Jack London
🇯🇵 Japan The 1900s The 1890sHe is a Man! — The true story of the adventurous and remarkable life of the American novelist Jack London(1876-1916).
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Tokio Jokio
🇯🇵 JapanA "captured" Japanese newsreel. Civilian defense shows an aircraft spotter painting spots on aircraft and a fire prevention HQ that already burned down. Kitchen Hints shows the construction of a sandwich from bread and meat ration cards. Poisonalities in the News shows Yamamoto walking on stilts and boasting of plans for the White House, contrasted with the room reserved for him: an electric chair. A submarine, launched 3 weeks ahead of schedule, is still being built. A plane's new landing gear is a little man on a tricycle. A minesweeper uses a giant broom.
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Bombardier
Aichi Prefecture The 1940sSee the bombing of Tokyo before your very eyes — A documentary/drama about the training of bombardiers during WWII. Major Chick Davis proves to the U.S. Army the superiority of high altitude precision bombing, and establishes a school for bombardiers. Training is followed in semi-documentary style, with personal dramas in subplots. The climax is a spectacular, if somewhat jingoistic, battle sequence.
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Behind the Rising Sun
🇯🇵 Japan The 1930s The 1940sThe year's most timely story. — A Japanese publisher urges his American-educated son to side with the Axis.
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My Japan
🇯🇵 JapanAn odd bit of WWII propaganda in which an obviously Caucasian actor, using a fake Japanese accent, talks about the beauty of his homeland and how "his" people are different (and superior) to naive American soldiers. According to the narrator of the film, a US invasion of Japan would not succeed due to the superior fighting power of the Japanese people who, if forced, would retreat from the island and take up refuge in caves on mainland China.
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There Was a Father
Tokyo PrefectureShuhei Horikawa, a poor schoolteacher, struggles to raise his son Ryohei by himself, despite neither money nor prospects.
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Eleventh Hour
Kanagawa PrefectureUsing Clark Kent as a cover, Superman travels to Japan as a saboteur during the war.
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Penny Serenade
🇯🇵 Japan"Remember the tune they were singing the night we fell in love?..." — While listening to a recording of Penny Serenade, Julie Gardiner Adams begins reflecting on her past. She recalls her impulsive marriage to newspaper reporter Roger Adams, which begins on a deliriously happy note but turns out to be fraught with tragedy. Other songs remind her of their courtship, their marriage, their desire for a child, and the joys and sorrows they have shared. A flood of memories come back to her as she ponders on their present problems and how they arose.
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